Ghana’s star will shine again - Akufo-Addo

President Akufo-Addo has expressed confidence that despite the challenges facing the country and Africa as a whole, Ghana’s Black Star will shine again.

“The Black Star is going to shine and shine and shine, and we are going to build a Ghana beyond aid,” the president said in Washington DC, USA, as a guest speaker at a gala dinner oraganised by the Whitaker Group to mark its 15th anniversary.

The message was received with a thunderous applause.

The event was used to honour President Akufo-Addo with the Exemplary Leadership Award in recognition of his “courageous and transformative leadership” in Africa.

He also received a Congressional Record of the United States Congress – a special gesture President Akufo-Addo said he would always treasure.

The Ghanaian leader expressed gratitude to Rosa Whitaker and the Whitaker Group for the honour, saying he had known Rosa for the past 15 years before she even got married to Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams.

“We met 15 years ago when I was Ghana’s Foreign Minister in the government of the outstanding Ghanaian statesman, President John Agyekum Kufuor. And I’ve been a firm friend since. She was very helpful to the Kufuor government in finding our way around the labyrinth; that is Washington DC. Her love of Ghana, of Africa and her peoples, showed through everything she did,” he stated.

President Akufo-Addo said it was a period of joy when Rosa decided to settle in Ghana by marrying the Patriarch of the charismatic church in the country.

“You can imagine our pleasure when she decided to become a full-blown Ghanaian, when she married one of the notable figures of faith in our country and continent, His Eminence Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams,” he indicated.

He noted that Ghana has a lot to celebrate, and that he was determined to build a confident and united Ghana where prosperity would be the preserve of all.

“What our history has taught us is that the spirit of the Ghanaian, in his or her quest for peace, progress and prosperity, cannot be quenched. We are a determined lot, who cannot be deterred,” he said.

He explained that the time has come for Ghana to move even further to deepen its democracy, saying, “We must trust the individual and collective good sense of our people, we must create wealth and provide happiness to our nation.”

This, he explained, could only be achieved when “we have a private sector with a strong sense of enterprise innovation and creativity, and then educated and skilled population that is capable of competing in the global market place.”

This, the president said, was the reason why his administration had made basic education free in all public schools to guarantee access to quality education for Ghana’s children with no discrimination.

“In doing so we must expand our horizons and embrace science and technology as a critical part of our development… we want to create a society of opportunity and incentives…we have to build a confident Ghana, which is united and at peace with herself, which continues to pursue its historic pan-African vocation,” he underscored.

He noted, “The achievements of Africans in America, despite the nuances of their being there, tells of their determination to survive and excel, no matter the odds …Africans here, Africans in the Americas, Africans in the continent, together we shall overcome…the 21st century is going to be our time… we are going to realize unlimited possibilities and establish conclusively our greatness. That is my deep seethed and utmost belief.”